Nomination deadline now closed

*CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated Kyle Reaburn was acclaimed as trustee for the Upper Grand District School Board in Puslinch and Guelph Ward 6. Pallavi Ramchandani is also running for the position. The Advertiser regrets the error.

WELLINGTON COUNTY – The nomination period for the 2026 municipal election has closed.

Prospective candidates had until 2pm on Aug. 21 to file with their local municipality.

A list of those who filed prior to the deadline, and have had their candidacy certified, is below.

(Incumbent candidates – those currently on council and running for the same seat – are noted with an asterisk* behind their name. This list has been updated from an earlier version and now includes all certified candidates).

Centre Wellington

Five people are running for mayor in Centre Wellington Township:

• Neil Dunsmore;
• Stephen Kitras;
• Kelly Linton;
• Shawn Watters*; and
• Bronwynne Wilton.

Councillor candidates in Centre Wellington, which uses a ward system are:

• Sophie Hogan, Ward 1;
• Lisa MacDonald, Ward  1*;
• Erika Montero, Ward 1;
• Kimberly Jefferson, Ward 2*; 
• Darcy Saunders, Ward 2;
• David DeWitt, Ward 3;
• Robert Foster, Ward 3;
• Barbara Lustgarten Evoy, Ward 3*;
• Shivam Taneja, Ward 3;
• Jennifer Adams, Ward 4*;
• Maddy Smith, Ward 4;
• Julie Charbonneau, Ward 5;
• Matt LeBeau, Ward 5;
• Elnor Walsh, Ward 5;
• Pamela Brown-Wass, Ward 6;
• Matt Bunch, Ward 6; and
• Richard Pinder,Ward 6.

Erin

Mayoral candidates in the Town of Erin are:

• Michael Dehn*;
• Dusty Scott; and
• Rob Smith. 

Erin councillor candidates include (four to be elected);

• Cathy Aylard*;
• Sunjay Bedi;
• John Brennan*;
• Jamie Cheyne*;
• Sukhchain Gill;
• Benita Raponi;
• Sid Spear;
• Tracey Wallace; and
• Alex Zaichuk.

Guelph/Eramosa

The candidates for mayor in Guelph/Eramosa Township are Dan Kennaley and Chris White*.

Councillor candidates in the ward system include:

• Jason Baldwin, Ward 1;
• Philip Mullis, Ward 1;
• Bill Weima, Ward 1;
• Jason Peart, Ward 2; 
• Corey Woods, Ward 2*;
• Tara Groves-Taylor, Ward 3;
• Steven Liebig, Ward 3*;
• Lisa Logan-Dayman, Ward 3;
• Mark Bouwmeester,  Ward 4*;
• Mark Montgomery, Ward 4; and
• Bree Wilson, Ward 4.

Mapleton

Mayoral candidates in Mapleton Township are Gregg Davidson* and Amanda Reid.

Councillor candidates are (four to be elected):

• Alby Mbanjabahizi;
• Andy Knetsch;
• Doug Duimering;
• Jennifer Goertzen;
• Lori Woodham*;
• Marlene Ottens*;
• Michael Martin*;
• Paul Snider; and
• Robin Larkin.

Minto

Dave Turton* is the only mayoral candidate in the Town of Minto and will be acclaimed.

Candidates for deputy mayor are Jean Anderson* and Marté Pronk.

Councillor candidates are (five to be elected):

• Joe Andrade;
• Debra Dennison;
• Judy Dirksen*;
• Ron Elliott*;
• Jennifer Gibson;
• Louise Howe;
• Shawn McDonald;
• Joe Park;
• Patrick Raftis;
• Mike Roesch;
• Susan Thurston; and
• Paul Zimmerman*.

Puslinch

Mayoral candidates in Puslinch Township are:

• Stephanie McCrone;
• James Seeley*; and
• Michael Wilford.

Candidates for Puslinch council are (four to be elected);

• Sara Bailey*;
• Steven Dorgo;
• Jessica Goyda*;
• Russel Hurst*;
• John Sepulis*; and
• David Smedley.

Wellington North

Candidates for mayor in Wellington North Township are Kelly Dimick and Steven McCabe.

Candidates for council in the ward system are:

• Wayne Allen, Ward 1;
• Michelle McInnis, Ward 1; 
• Penny Renken, Ward 1*;
• Laura Aston, Ward 2;
• Sherry Burke, Ward 2*;
• Adriana Cea, Ward 2;
• James Craig, Ward 3;
• Lisa Hern, Ward 3*;
• Erin Kiers, Ward 3;
• Serge Karwal, Ward 4;
• Troy Lawlor, Ward 4; and
• Alex Zantout, Ward 4.

Wellington County

Wellington County council is comprised of 16 members: the mayors of the seven lower-tier municipalities and nine councillors elected in a ward system (see ward map below).

Candidates running include (those in wards 1, 2 and 5-9 are acclaimed)::

• David Anderson*, Ward 1 (Minto);
• Earl Campbell*, Ward 2 (Mapleton)*;
• Campbell Cork*, Ward 3 (north/west Wellington North);
• Dan Yake, Ward 3;
• Stephen O’Neil*, Ward 4 (southeast Wellington North and north Centre Wellington);
• Allan Tota, Ward 4;
• Mary Lloyd*, Ward 5 (west portion of Centre Wellington);
• Diane Ballantyne*, Ward 6 (southeast portion of Centre Wellington);
• Matthew Bulmer*, Ward 7* (Puslinch and west Guelph/Eramosa);
• Doug Breen*, Ward 8 (east Guelph/Eramosa); and
• Jeff Duncan*, Ward 9*.

School board trustees

Candidates running for trustee for the Upper Grand District School Board include:

• Chris Davies (Centre Wellington);
• Chris McGarvey (Centre Wellington);
• Jen Edwards* (Erin, Guelph/Eramosa, East Garafraxa) - acclaimed;
• Curtis Cox (Minto, Mapleton, Wellington North);
• Mike Johnson (Minto, Mapleton, Wellington North);
• Pallavi Ramchandani (Guelph Ward 6, Puslinch); and
• Kyle Reaburn (Guelph Ward 6, Puslinch).

Wellington Catholic District School Board trustee candidates are:

• Cassandra O’Donnell* (Erin, Guelph/Eramosa, Puslinch) - acclaimed; and
• Andrew Finoro* (Minto, Mapleton, Wellington North, Centre Wellington) - acclaimed.

French-language school trustee candidates for the area include:

• Rachid Barrima, candidate in the Conseil Scolaire Viamonde (French public schools) for Wellington, Middlesex, Perth, Huron, Waterloo) - acclaimed; and
• Genevieve Grenier*, candidate in the Conseil Scolaire Catholique MonAvenir (French Catholic schools) for Wellington, Dufferin, Brampton, Caledon) - acclaimed.

*(Denotes incumbent candidate.)